Jordan Spieth's coach Cameron McCormick says he prefers to coach fighters rather than aesthetically-pleasing players, which explains why he and world No.2 Spieth have such a rapport.
McCormick, the Melburnian now regarded as one of the finest golf instructors in the world, is back in Australia to present at the PGA Expo on the Sunshine Coast.
A product of Eastern Golf Club in Melbourne, he took his game to the American college system at Texas Tech, turned professional and played on tour for two years, then became an instructor in Dallas.
It was there that he first met Spieth as a 12-year-old wunderkind, and while that relationship has given him a worldwide profile, he is also the coach of women's world No.1 So Yeon Ryu and a cluster of other top level players.
On Spieth, the defending Emirates Australian Open champion, he told the crew from Golf Australia's Inside the Ropes podcast:
"We've had a relationship that has lasted 12 years. It feels like I'm his dad, particularly at times around when he was 15-16 years old. We have healthy conversation and debate that sometimes sounds like it's disagreement. But we always find common ground, and that's not something that I'm saying is bad. It's actually something that I'm highlighting as a good feature.
"Jordan himself believes in his own ability and believes in his ideas, but he's quick and receptive if ideas need to change. There's no sense of stubbornness there. There's a sense of practical understanding of the reasons why I might do something.''
McCormick said he had a preference for coaching a certain genre of player. "I much prefer to coach fighters. I much prefer to coach players that … if there's 10 dogs in a pack and a piece of meat, I'll coach the dog who has the greatest determination to get that piece of meat over and above the dog that prances around and looks pretty good.''